Thomas H. Troxell wrote a book,
"Legion of the Lost Mine" that was published by Comet Publishers in
1958. It is my unrstanding that it is in the public domain. Here we have the
origin of some of the stories floating around the internet about Doublehead,
Priber, Cortblossom, Tuckahoe, and others. I have included this book in the
previous two blog posts.
But notice in the forward of the book
-- it says;
The location of this story is along
the Cumberland River and Great Cumberland Plateau in Eastern Kentucky and
Tennessee.
The time is before Kentucky became a
commonwealth or Tennessee became a state.
The names of some of the characters
are fictitious, and any resemblence these may have to those of persons now
living is purely coincidental.
This is all I have time for at the
moment -- have to go to work I will be adding a few things yet to this topic.
As I have shown yall -- MY direct family -- my Gist's -- LIVED in this region
of Kentucky and can be traced there to at least 1775 at Gist's Station's Camp
on the opposite side of the Cumberland River from the mouth of Pitman Creek,
just a few miles south of Somerset.
Yet I can't help but notice the
author of this novel of short stories says the names of some of the characters
are fictitcius.
I have much more to say but no time
to say it at the present. Will return as I can.
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Well I am back posting. It is
Sunday morning, 3-10-13, 0852, CDT; in Altus, Oklahoma.
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Research means very little until you
gete back to the primary source. That is, the story from which all the others
are derived. The earliest source I have discovered for many of these stories
seems to be Thomas Troxall's book. Many of the origins of these stories, the
stories of Tuckahoe and Cornblossom, can be traced back to these stories, but
not all.
Another point of origin of some of
these stories can be found in the book that can be found online at:
A HISTORY OF THE DANIEL BOONE NATIONAL
FOREST 1770 – 1970; By Robert F. Collins
U.S. Forest Service – Retired;
Winchester, Kentucky; Edited by
Betty B. Ellison; Lexington, Kentucky 1975;
U.S. Department of Agriculture; Forest
Service; Southern Region
Click
on “Table of contents and then click on “Chapter 17”. That will take you here: http://www.foresthistory.org/ASPNET/Publications/region/8/daniel_boone/chap17.htm
First, there is mention of Daniel Boone,
and whose loyalty to the Revolution was in question. Boone was summoned before
a court martial where he was charged with treason, aiding the British,
surrendering the salt makers, and aiding the forces that had attacked Fort
Boonesborough. Collins goes on to say Captain
Boone appeared before the court martial and proved, to the entire satisfaction
of the court, that all of the acts mentioned were patriotic and in the interest
of the settlement. He proved that his conduct at both the salt camp and at the
treaty conference were deceptions and strategy necessitated by the emergencies
of war and practiced entirely for the advantage of the settlers and in defense
of the fort. After due deliberation by the court martial, he was not only
completely exonerated of the charges, but his conduct was endorsed by the court
and he was promoted to the rank of Major in the Virginia Militia Unfortunately
Collins provides no date for these court martial proceedings.
Collins continues: The act of the first session of the Virginia legislature, passed on
December 7, 1776, created the County of Kentucky out of all of the territory
west of the mountains, including the Transylvania Company's purchase from the
Cherokees. It implied that the government of Virginia did not honor Judge
Henderson's claim; that this act had been prefaced by the resolution of the
Virginia convention, adopted June 24, 1776, against purchases of land from the Indians
without authority from the State; and by their act of July 3, 1776, appointing
commissioners to examine into such a legal purchase, which indicated that the
matter had been thoroughly considered.
There exists a 1775 treaty signed by
Boone indicating he was working for Henderson, and it included the signatures
of several Cherokee chiefs, notably absent is of course, Dragging Canoe. Well,
back to Collins’ book.
The state of Virginia did not recognize
Henderson’s treaty, and by extrapolation could not have recognized Boone’s Treaty
either, as he acted as an agent for Henderson, per the treaty itself. If you'd like a copy of this document remind me and I'll get it to you vhawkins1952@gmail.com. I found it online a few
years back and have rediscovered it in one of my folders, one I haven’t accessed
in years. Collins says; On November 4, 1778, the Virginia House of Delegates passed
a resolution which stated, "Resolved,
That all purchases of lands, made or to be made, of the Indians, within the
chartered bounds of this commonwealth, as described by the constitution or form
of government, by any private persons not authorized by public authority, are
void."
The
same resolution continued, "Resolved, That the purchase heretofore made by
Richard Henderson and Company, of that tract of land called Transylvania,
within this commonwealth, of the Cherokee Indians, is void; . . . . ."
Please consider the timeframe. Our
Nathaniel Gist had a “Gist’s Station’s Camp” in southern Kentucky RIGHT THERE
at that timeframe, in 1775. Hmmm . . ., I have never heard of it being attacked
by the warring faction of the Cherokees (known as the Chickamauga) and their allies. I’ll have to look into that at a later time.
Back to Collins’ book.
Oh, this is interesting, same page from
chapter 17:
In
spite of the warning some four weeks in advance, the invading force of Indians
and Canadians under Captain Bird reached the heart of Kentucky without
resistance and without discovery. On June 22, [1780] this force appeared before Ruddle's and
Martin's Stations, and after a brief demonstration with their artillery, both
stations surrendered. The fact that this force had cannons with them spread
throughout the Kentucky frontier, and again the citizens of Boonesborough felt
that they were doomed. Collins mentions Ruddell’s Station! Two Ruddle boys were
captured and raised by the Shawnee after this attack, and weren’t released
until after the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1795. They even fought with the
Shawnee in several battles against the settlers. They knew Tecumseh personally. When
on one of them, Abraham Ruddle, emigrated to Arkansas in 1815, my Wayland
ancestors travelled with him [see “Pioneers and Makers of Arkansas”, p 339-342
by Josiah H. Shinn, A. M]. Sorry, I keep getting sidetracked. Collins continues
with the story of the founding of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Then in chapter 19 he mentions the origin
of his sources. the primary source, about the Thomas Troxell book mentioned earlier:
Collins says; The story, pieced together from military records of General George
Washington's army, from folk tales of Indian tribes, from court and land
records in county courthouses, and from stories handed down in white families
of the area, is reproduced here from the records and writings of a present-day
descendent of Jacob Troxel and Princess Cornblossom, Thomas H. Troxel, the
Scott County surveyor in Oneida, Tennessee. He has researched the details
over many years and procured records of his ancestor's service in the
Continental Army sufficient to satisfy the Army Quartermaster to the point of
issuing the official grave marker which today marks the last resting place of
Jacob Troxel beside the Old Alum Ford Trail.
He proceeds to retell most of the
stories we are farmiliar with all over the internet, of Doublehead, Christian
Priber, Cornblossom, Tuckahoe, and others. But remember that in the
introduction to his book, Thomas Troxell says some of the characters in his
book are FICTIONAL! Collins neglects to mention this. Althoughhe mentions records of Washington's Army,Indian fold tales, court and trial records, he doesn't provide these references directly. He does provede records from Troxell's book, however.
Collins story continues with Doublehead
being killed and buried in Southern Kentucky. Collins says; Thus in the year of 1807 ended the life of
the last great Indian chief to rule over the Indians of the Cumberland Plateau.
Chief Doublehead was buried where he fell. His grave may still be found at
Doublehead Gap on the Little South Fork near the town of Monticello. Unfortunately
for Collins, Doublehead’s actual death is well documented. More on this later.
This is definitely fiction. In the footnote section of his book Troxell says
there are two “legends” about Doublehead’s death. The other however, is NOT a
legend! It is a well-known and well documented event – again, more on this
later.
Troxell’s book ends with Cornblossom
getting married. Collins writings however, don’t. He goes on, never mentioning
to the reader he is no longer taking Troxell’s book as his source. He says:
“In
the fall of 1810, an arrangement with the Indian school having been agreed
upon, word went out to all members that the tribe of Princess Cornblossom was
to leave the Cumberland River area and move to the Sequatchie Valley in
Tennessee. They were directed to assemble at a large rock house just to the
west of the Old Tellico Trail. This location is now known as the Yahoo Falls
Recreation Area in the Sterns District of the Daniel Boone National Forest.
“In
the late fall of 1810, when the moon was round and full, all that remained of
Chief Doublehead's tribe of the Cherokee gathered at the big rock house below
the cliffs where Yahoo Creek plunges some eighty feet from the great Cumberland
Plateau to the bottom of the gorge which carries it to the Cumberland River,
waiting for Princess Cornblossom to lead them south over the old Tellico Trail
to Tennessee. Some of the squaws had already shouldered their packs of furs or
sleeping mats for the children and were about to start when shots rang out from
the darkness in front of the rock house. Bunched under the rock house and
stunned by the unexpected attack, escape was impossible. The braves were the
first to fall followed quickly by the mothers and children until not a single
Indian was left standing and the floor of the rock house was covered with the
dead and dying and ran red with their blood.
“After
the firing ceased and the little band of white men who had committed this foul
murder were about to leave, the situation was suddenly reversed. Day was just
breaking as Princess Cornblossom and her notorious son, Little Jake arrived on
the scene ready to lead their people to the safety that awaited them in
Tennessee. Taking in the situation at a glance and occupying a commanding
position among the rocks which blocked the white men's escape route, they
opened fire. The white party had been reduced to three, but only one of these
three survived the firing squad of Princess Cornblossom and her son. Before the
execution the Princess pronounced the death sentence in scathing terms such as
"You paleface-treaty with Indians — if Indian no steal horse paleface no
kill Indian. You palefaces kill our braves. You kill our squaws and our babies.
Their blood made red the land you steal."
“Princess
Cornblossom, grief stricken by the massacre of her people, died in a few days
and was buried by the large flat rock beside the old Tellico Trail that had
been travelled by her people for so many years. This flat rock is now within
the town of Stearns, Kentucky . . .”
Collins does NOT mention the source of
this story, nor ar there any historical documents ANYWHERE, including Southern
Kentucky, that reveal the source of the legend. The state of Kentucky however,
has placed a historical marker there. Again, there is no record in any government
document, local newspaper, NOTHING, that reveals any mention of this event. The
only original source seems to be Collins himself.
Since my family DID LIVE THERE (I have
proven that through previous blog entries), I’d have loved to have found
something more – but it simply doesn’t exist. I still think the stories of
mixed blood people living there are true, and my family was one of them (we
were there before the Troxell’s arrived). I suspect however as with many family
sotries, some family members, not knowing the origin of their roots, simply
made up stories to account for their origins. Perhaps these Troxell’s did just
that. I suspect they DO have Indian blood, but it got there some other way.
To be continued.
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